Look out! Dave’s ranting about Episcopal stuff some more!
As part of the effort to secede Grace & St Stephen’s from the Episcopal Church, Rev Armstrong has been walking them through what’s called “Forty Days of Discernment,” a phrase which sounds like a period of quiet but intense reflection and consideration, of weighing matters carefully, and seeking, prayerfully, for discernment from the Holy Spirit to determine the right path forward.
In reality, of course, the Forty Days program was put together by Falls Church and Truro Church in Virginia, two parishes that already broke from the Episcopal Church. Hmmmm … guess which way their discernment went, and which way their program leads?
As part of the fair and balanced program, Grace & St Stephens invited in Bishop Marty Minns to speak yesterday. Bp Minns is actually a former Episcopal priest, anointed bishop by the Church of Nigeria to act in some sort of extra-provincial fashion, through CANA (currently “Convocation of Anglicans in North America,” though it was originally calling itself the “Convocation of Anglican Nigerian Churches in America”), which is, by no coincidence, the group that Armstrong is trying to move over to. (So far as I know, there’s no discernment speech by anyone who might argue as to why the parish should stay in the Episcopal Church. Funny thing, that.)
You won’t get the above paragraphs of explication in the latest Jean Torkelson article about the goings-on down in the Springs. Here are a few things you do get.
Anglican bishop to make case for leaving Episcopal Church
That’s the headline, though, of course, Torkelson herself probably didn’t write it. It’s wrong, anyway, at least by implication — the local Episcopal bishop, Rob O’Neill, is also an “Anglican bishop,” as much so as Bp Minns. They are from different provinces in the Anglican Union, to be sure. I suppose if the headline said “Nigerian bishop,” that would be more accurate, though less provocative and more worrisome to some folks.
“We’re trying to find a way to remain faithful Anglicans during this time of turbulence,” said Bishop Martyn Minns on Wednesday, hours before he was scheduled to address parishioners of the Rev. Don Armstrong’s Grace and St. Stephen’s Church.
First off, it’s not Rev. Armstrong’s church. Except, perhaps, through the Cult of Personality. Second, Bp Minns misspeaks — he’s looking for a way to break away from the Episcopal Church, not remain faithful Anglicans. Unless something has changed overnight, TEC is still part of the Anglican Communion, despite the best efforts of Bp Minns’ boss.
Minns, who is based in Virginia, represents a conservative branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion which says the Episcopal Church has abandoned scriptural authority and traditional doctrines on sexuality.
Actually, he represents the Church of Nigeria. It’s not like there’s some monolithic “worldwide Anglican Communion” out there; it’s a set of different provincial, national churches, one of which, the Church of Nigeria, created and controls CANA, Bp Minns’ organization.
Armstrong hopes to convince a majority of his parish’s 1,500 to 2,000 members to join CANA in a vote May 20. If a majority reject the idea and want to stay with the Episcopal Church, Armstrong has pledged to surrender the parish and begin a new CANA church elsewhere.
Which, of course, he could do regardless. He could just go and “begin a new CANA church elsewhere.” But then he wouldn’t win.
Minns and CANA are under the authority of the Anglican province of Nigeria, which agreed to sponsor conservative churches fleeing the Episcopal Church.
How generous of them! They “agreed” to “sponsor” — sounds downright noble. When, in fact, they decided to expand their control and seek to absorb breakaway parishes.
Minns said he will tell parishioners he believes CANA represents “a good way forward” at a time when the Anglican Communion itself appears to be fracturing. Most of the 38 worldwide Anglican provinces object to the U.S. church’s stand in favor of gay clergy and same-sex blessings. But the U.S. Episcopal Church refuses to back down.
It’s unclear how many “most” actually is, and it’s also unclear the extent to which some provinces want to break away, others want to kick us out, and others support us. CANA tends to (at least for US papers) talk about the whole thing purely as a “Episcopal Church vs. All Right-Thinking Anglicans,” but there’s a lot of foofoorah north of the border, too (one reason why CANA uses the “North America” part of its name), and a number of other provinces that are supportive of us.
“We’re a mess,” Minns said of the Anglican confusion. “Many things are incoherent.”
Which sounds like a great reason to jump ship now.
Minns and 11 Virginia churches are embroiled in multiple lawsuits with their own Episcopal diocese and the Episcopal Church USA over church property. But he said he believes the Armstrong case is the only one in which the Episcopal hierarchy is accusing a seceding pastor of personal wrongdoing.
Which makes it sound like, as Rev Armstrong has framed it, this is all a persecution job by TEC against a dissident priest. In fact, the investigation against Armstrong began more than a year before he announced he was seceding — an announcement he (and the G&SS vestry) made within 24 hours of what was expected to be the vote to file ecclesiastical charges against him.
One could frame it as trying to flee the jurisdiction before the indictment is handed down, but that wouldn’t be as pleasant a story to portray.
Ah! Jean also wrote (today!) on what happened at Bp Minns’ visit to Grace & St Stephens, not just his advance publicity piece. The headline, at least, is accurate: Episcopal parish in Springs invited to join breakaway group.
An Anglican bishop on Wednesday night made the case to members of an embattled Colorado Springs parish on why they should secede from the Episcopal Church.
See above for the whole “Anglican bishop” riff. He’s an American who was anointed bishop by the Church of Nigeria. By calling him an “Anglican bishop,” it makes him sound like he’s the Archbishop of Canterbury’s assistant, or a representative of some nebulous Anglican Communion group.
“Frankly, the decision you’re facing is the biggest decision your church will ever make. You should make it together,” Bishop Martyn Minns told about 150 parishioners at Grace and St. Stephen’s Church.
[…] Armstrong hopes to persuade a majority of his parish’s 1,500 to 2,000 members to join CANA in a vote May 20.
So “together” means “a majority.”
Lest anyone cavil at the turnout, getting 10% of a parish to turn out for anything (even “the biggest decision” they’ll ever make) is not a bad accomplishment. I suspect that of those present, the majority were either hard-core supporters of the secession, or folks leaning toward it but not yet fully convinced. The rest of the parish has likely already made up its mind.
I do have a question about that “majority.” What’s the actual basis for it? Will the vote require a majority of the register communicants at the parish? They should have a more definitive number than 1,500-2,000, though that number may well include folks who are, at best, occasional churchgoers; other reports I’ve seen indicate the normal Sunday turnout at G&SS is more like 800. Will it be based on that “average,” then? Or will it be based on a majority of those who turn out to vote? And if that voting population is only a fraction of the listed parish, is that “making the decision together?”
Certainly one can argue that those who don’t vote (assuming the voting and its environment are fair and open) are conceding the vote to those who do (that’s how our democracy works). Still, it’s worth noting that, if that’s the basis, you could have a very small fraction of the parish making its “biggest decision ever” for the rest of them.
That’s pretty close to the end of the article, most of which is a rehash of the previous one (did Bp Minns actually bring any new arguments to the table?).
Annoying.